


Immersed

by lulebell



Category: Fringe
Genre: Angst, F/F, Femslash, Hurt/Comfort, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-26
Updated: 2011-02-26
Packaged: 2017-10-15 23:17:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/165892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lulebell/pseuds/lulebell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rub a dub dub, a girl in the tub; how do you think she got there? Set between <em>The Man From The Other Side</em> but before <em>Brown Betty</em>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Immersed

Astrid tried not to laugh as Olivia burst through the lab doors covered in mud - her pale skin was almost discoloured and her blonde hair almost unrecognizable. Astrid covered her mouth with her hand looked at the floor, desperate to swallow her laughter. She took a deep breath and composed herself for Olivia’s sake before she poised her question:

“What happened to you?”

“The lead didn’t pan out.”

Astrid nodded. “Nothing?” her smile disappeared when she saw the pain in Olivia’s eyes. Olivia sucked in her lips and looked at the floor, avoiding Astrid’s eyes. She shook her head no and Astrid’s heart broke for her.

The empty lab was once bustling with activity: a mad scientist and his son, a cow that quietly observed the situation at hand and the junior agent who held them all together. Olivia never liked being around people - a solitary lifestyle was one that she created for herself not out of want or desire, but out of necessity - but she had grown accustom to everyone around her and now they were gone.

Without a word, Peter left her to pick up the pieces and fend for herself. She chided herself for being selfish but she couldn’t help the feelings that kept bubbling up to the surface. No matter how hard she tried to push them down and away, they robbed her of a life that she was starting to believe she actually deserved.

She took a deep breath and let the memories float past her; their faces and voices bounced off of her. Her lips trembled, if not for the cold mud that was slowly hardening on her skin, and remembered everything Peter had given her, had tried to give her, before he left. Something warm touched her hand, dispelling all of the past’s ghosts and Olivia jumped from the shock, her eyes flying open in fear.

“Hey,” Astrid said, squeezing Olivia’s hand tightly. “It’s only me.”

Olivia nodded but still refused to make eye contact.

“Olivia, look at me,” Astrid stood beneath Olivia’s gaze and waited until a pair of sad green eyes met her own. “I’m not going anywhere.”

The mere thought of being connected with someone overwhelmed her as suddenly as the wet mud chilled her to the bone and she began to shiver violently.

“Let’s get lost,” Astrid said as she pulled Olivia out of the lab.

//

Astrid’s apartment was warm and homey, with a certain Bohemian feel to it that surprised Olivia to a large extent. She stood in Astrid’s doorway, cold and dirty, not knowing what to do or where to go until her clothes started falling off her body, there in the front hall, like magic or witchcraft, or a dream made real, piling at her feet until she was naked.

Wrapped in a large towel, Olivia sat down on the closed toilet seat as Astrid turned on the hot water, adding different liquids that soon filled the room with different scents and perfumes.

“Your bathtub is huge.”

“There’s a reason why I chose this place,” she stood and turned to Olivia, smiling lightly, as if she was suddenly embarrassed. “Stand up, Liv,” she said softly. “I want to wash you off before you get in.”

Olivia was dirty, mud caked on her skin and in her hair, in places that she didn’t even realize until the wash cloth was raking over her body roughly. It hurt and Olivia closed her eyes against the pain, holding on to Astrid’s shoulders, drawing strength from the pain and the younger woman who crouched down at her feet.

She tried not to think, tried not to feel, both of which were impossible, and the sheer force of that resignation brought tears to her eyes; they streaked a path down her muddy cheeks. The dirt came off, but the feelings of loss and abandonment were still there, burrowing deep, under her skin, like an insect that insisted on making its new home the hollow of her broken heart.

“Alright,” Astrid said finally. She stepped back and waited while a confused Olivia wondered what exactly was expected of her.

“You’ve never... had a bath with someone else?” Astrid suggested, sensing Olivia’s trepidation.

“... not with another woman...”

Astrid nodded absently, as if the information had no baring on what would come. Carefully, she helped Olivia into the hot water, holding her hand as the heat burned Olivia’s skin, making it red and swollen. Olivia focused on it, on the water, on the pain it brought, hoping that it would seek out the burrowing insect and drown it inside of her.

Olivia lay down cautiously, letting the water flow over her naked body and from beneath the silken waters, she floated, hair spread out like flotsam, ejecting from her head, only to wash up on the sides of the porcelain bathtub. She surfaced for breath, allowing the hot water to run off her face and back into the deep. Olivia opened her eyes and found Astrid smiling softly, as if she was seeing Olivia for the first time.

Astrid’s hands found the back of Olivia’s head and she gently pushed Olivia up into a sitting position. With her back to Astrid, Olivia pulled her knees up and sank to the bottom of the tub.

“I have this new mango scented stuff,” Astrid said as she squirted some liquid into the palm of her hand; Olivia laughed softly.

“What?”

“Oh, sorry. I just think it’s the law or something...” Olivia trailed off as Astrid’s hands worked the shampoo through her hair, massaging her scalp with the pads of her fingers.

“What is?”

“That girls smell like peaches or mangos or strawberries...” Olivia trailed off as Astrid touched the skin behind her ears.

Astrid stopped suddenly and stared at the back of Olivia’s head for a moment before gripped Olivia’s hair almost roughly and started working her scalp again. “Yes, Olivia,” she said, deadly serious. “It is the law.”

Olivia stayed quiet as Astrid moved her hands over Olivia’s head, down the gentle slope of her scalp, tugging gently on the sides of her ears, rubbing her fingers and thumbs over the delicate, wet hair. The gentlest pressure made Olivia gasp slightly, sucking in air and closing her eyes. Astrid was careful so the shampoo didn’t run into Olivia’s eyes as she carefully gathered up Olivia’s hair and placed it on top of her head.

She moved her fingers from the top of Olivia’s head to her forehead, tipping it back gently. Astrid poured a cup of water down Olivia’s head, rinsing her hair; soapy bubbles rushed down Olivia’s neck, over the back of her shoulders, down the front of her breasts and back into the soapy waters that she was sitting in.

The loss she felt, the overwhelming sadness of being thrown over without a second thought, and the break up of their make-shift family all washed over her body and down the drain. As a calm sense of relief took over, she stood starring at the swirling waters until there was nothing left but a few reminiscent bubbles. Astrid wrapped a towel around her damp shoulders, drying off the wet that was slowly growing cold.

“You really know how to do this.”

“I’ve had some practice... fixing broken things...” Astrid trailed off into a pause before bracing the next question. “You gonna be okay?”

Olivia nodded, breathing heavily.

“You know, you don’t have to go home.”

“You wanna argue about who gets the couch?”

“No,” Astrid said laughing. “My bed is big enough for the two of us.”

Astrid disappeared into the next room and Olivia followed hesitantly, finding a certain solace in the doorframe. She was tentative and cautious, not willing to put herself back into a position where she could get hurt again.

“I won’t tell anyone,” came a soft voice from the bedroom and Olivia’s feet followed it before her brain could tell her no. She hung the towel on a hook before she turned down the duvet and climbed into bed, laying down naked next to Astrid, swallowing the lump in her throat.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” Astrid said as she brushed the damp hair off of Olivia’s forehead. Leaning in, Astrid kissed the bare skin gently, breathing in her sweet scent before she pulled back and closed her eyes.

Remembering to breathe, Olivia nodded her head and let her heavy eyelids droop as sleep captured her and carried her off into the night. She believed Astrid, trusted her, and clung to the idea that maybe, not everything hinged on this one man. Dragged out of the darkest places reluctantly, she was happy come morning when she realized that Astrid had made good on her promise.


End file.
